MAC-N-CHEESE!!!!!

I totally, completely, absolutely, word for word, stole this recipe from the new love of my life THE VEGAN ZOMBIE!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPiHk4bKEbA

But I will write something about it too.....

I brought exactly the same ingredients as he did, cooked it exactly the same way & as we speak am eating it (with hot sauce) just like he suggested.

It came out perfectly. I didn't have to change a thing ingredient wise. I just made it all completely organic.

The price of this tasty meal is about $1.50 a serving...:o)

I did add one Tofu Pup & a big Spinach/Spring Mix salad to my meal, so obviously that would be more, but not by much! :o)

I would HIGHLY recommend this Mac-N-Cheese! Even meat eaters will enjoy it!

I'm bringing in to work for a pot luck, so we'll see if they even notice!!!

shhhhhhhhh! LOL

SALSA NIGHT!!!

I had a craving for really good, HOMEMADE salsa.

This is such an easy, nutritious, veggie & protein rich meal! It feels like your eating junk food, BUT IT'S NOT!!

It is SO simple to make! All I need to tell you is what's in it & you just chop away.

Oh, The hardest part is maybe opening the bag of chips though....LOL...I like Organic Blue Tortilla chips myself.

Again, I like to make BIG BATCHES, so everything gets all yummy yummy after it has sit in the fridge for a couple days. It only tastes better & better as it all blends together.....mmmmmmmm....:o)

2 25oz. cans of Organic Black Beans...drained & washed.
12 Organic Plum tomatoes. (You can use whichever tomatoes you like, but remember tomatoes are HIGHLY sprayed, so use Organic, if possible!)
4 Organic Avocados
4 cloves of Organic Garlic
2 Organic Red Onions
1 Big bunch of Organic Cilantro (use as much or little as you like...I like A LOT)
1 juice from an Organic Lime
Sea Salt & Black Pepper to taste.

Again, this is another one of those recipes that you could do so many combination's!
You could heat things up with some Jalapeno's. Or any pepper you like.....
You could switch up veggies, or beans, use more spices.....WHATEVER!!!
Make it Fresh....Make it Yummy....Make it ORGANIC....MAKE IT FUN!! :o)

The price for this is....$16 for all the Veg. & I payed $2.50 for a HUGE bag of chips.
I will get AT LEAST 10 BIG servings.....so that is.....$1.85 a serving! UNBELIEVABLE!!! :o)

So, I'm still enjoying my Pizza & Loaves, so I have no new food to post as of tonight. But I wanted to share a funny thing that happened today.
I brought in some of my chickpea/brown rice loaf for lunch at work today. I put organic ketchup on top & heated it all up in the microwave, so the smell going through the back room was DIVINE.....all the girls I work with were, of course, intrigued.
Well, long story short, they all took a bite (leaving me a very small lunch, but anyway....).....And they LOVED IT!!!
They all wanted the recipe!!! :o)
It was awesome to see the realization on their faces that Vegan food doesn't have to taste like sawdust & grass!!! LOL
I love being the pied piper of yummy Vegan food.....hmmmm, maybe I found my true calling????
LOL

It's PIZZA NIGHT!!!

Well, I'm all about comfort food this week. And I've been seeing horrible Pizza commercial's on TV all weekend, so I decided to do something about it tonight and make my own!! I'm always on a search to turn the food I THINK I'm craving into good for me VEGAN food. My next venture will be Mac-N-Cheese.....but that's another night.

Tonight I made Whole Wheat Pizza with Mushrooms & Garlic. My house smells SO YUMMY right now!!! Here are the ingredients;

This is the crust recipe;

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 package active dry yeast
3/4 tsp sea salt
1 cup hot water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp raw sugar

These are the toppings;

8 oz. package button mushrooms
4 cloves of garlic
olive oil
basil
12 oz can of fire roasted crushed tomatoes (Muir Glen Organic)
1 cup Daiya cheddar style shreds
1 cup Daiya mozzarella style shreds

(to prepare crust)
Pre-heat oven to 425.
In large mixing bowl, combine whole wheat flour, yeast and salt. Blend in water, oil & sugar. Stir until all ingredients are well mixed. Cover and let rise.

While it's rising, chop mushrooms & garlic. Saute lightly in large pan with a bit of olive oil.

Then after letting dough rise, spread on pizza pan (you might have to use a little flour as dough is quite sticky). Spoon half of the tomatoes on. Put mushroom & garlic on. Then, first cheddar then mozzarella "cheese".

Bake for 20 min. Let cool. Slice & Enjoy!!!

Now....I made two pizza's. So I doubled everything except the tomatoes. You would just use half a can on each pizza. (I had just a bit left in the can, so not quite half & half. I didn't want it too runny)

I have to tell you, this is my first venture into making my own Vegan pizza & I am LOVING IT!!!
SERIOUSLY! It tastes better than regular pizza!
It is a little sweet from the tomatoes, & VERY creamy from the "cheese". I didn't need any extra salt, just what I put in the crust. You can adjust seasonings to your own liking, but really, letting the ingredients stand on their own is all you need. It is UBER tasty!!! LOL

My husband has band practice tonight & the meat/dairy-eating boys just had bites & they LOVED IT!....They said it was so good, you would never even know it wasn't "real" pizza if I hadn't told them!

I was worried about the cheese, but had heard all the hype about Daiya cheese, so I had to give it a go & let me tell ya, it does NOT disappoint!!! :o)

Try this healthy, yummy, Vegan alternative next time you have pizza night! You'll be happy you did!!

Price;
$25 for ALL ingredients (for 2 pizza'a)
....so divided by 2 that means 12.50 a pizza.
I am cutting them into 4 big slices so that's $3.13 a slice.
If you want smaller slices you could do 6 at $2.08a slice.
Still a HUGE bargain!!
And remember....ALL ORGANIC INGREDIENTS TOO!!!...<3

Loaves!

OK....So I am making my loaves today. I pick one Sunday, then gather all ingredients & make a BUNCH of loaves. They usually last me WEEKS!!!! I make them then freeze them. Pulling one out a week to use. It is so inexpensive & an AMAZING time saver!! You can be as creative as you like. With unlimited possibilities & combination's of ingredients there is NO WAY you could get bored with this food!!! And after counting the number of loaves & dividing that by the cost of ingredients.....It comes out to about $1.50 a serving!!! (With this particular batch) So if you say you don't think you can't be Vegan & use only Organic ingredients because it is too expensive....THAT'S BULL my friend!! Just think how much you usually spend on your main dish!!! I KNOW it's more than a buck fifty!! This time I used~~~


Chick Peas (Two 25oz. cans---drained)
Brown Rice (a 2lb. bag)
Whole Wheat Flour ( unmeasured amount----just use as much as you want to bind it.....not tooooo much or else it will taste too "flour-y")
Olive Oil
Vegetable Broth ( a bit in after the flour to moisten & add more flavor)
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
Sage
Basil
Carrots (about 8 good size ones)
Celery (a whole package)
Onion ( one big one)
Garlic ( a whole bulb)
Portabello Mushrooms (two big ones)
Pumpkin Seeds About 1/2 cup)
Flax Seeds (as much as you want)
Sunflower Seeds (about 1/2 cup)
Sesame Seeds (as much as you want)
(All the seeds were toasted before hand & chopped lightly)

All of my ingredients were Organic as well.

I pureed the chickpea's & half of the brown rice. The other half of the rice I left whole. (Plus I left out just a bit....so not quite the whole 2lb. bag went into the loaves, but I cooked the whole bag & put the remainder in the fridge to be a time saver for some other night's side dish)

I chopped up all the veggies & used them raw.

I only used the Olive Oil to coat the loaf pan & on the top as little before I baked it.

I used the salt & pepper in the recipe as well as on top just before baking.

Baked at 350 degrees for an hour a piece.(I like mine on the crunchy side....if you don't, do 45 min.)

Then when it's done.....let cool a bit.....take it out of loaf pan.....wrap it in tin foil & freeze!!! Loaves hold together better after they cool & even BETTER after they've been frozen.

Then all that's left to do is slice a piece & enjoy!!! You can dress it up anyway you choose. I like Organic Ketchup....Salsa......On whole wheat bread with avocado or raw onion with Nayonaisse...on & on.....The possibilities are ENDLESS!!!

The key to STAYING Vegan is having the right foods ON HAND so you aren't tempted by crap. Plus KEEP IT FUN!!! There are so many yummy veggies out there & available right now, making your own personalized loaf is SO FUN!!!

I KNOW you'll be so excited you'll want to share it with a friend!!!

SO MAKE SOME LOAVES & SPREAD THE WORD!!!

GO VEGAN!!!!! <3<3<3